Posts Tagged "Saul"

How do you keep a covenant with someone after they are dead?
Did Jonathan have any offspring?
What did David do to remember his covenant with Jonathan?
In scripture, a covenant is eternal, and remains in effect as long as one of the descendants of the original covenant creators are still alive. The terms of the covenant stand even if one party breaks the original agreement. In mastering life with love, David was obligated to care for Jonathan’s children, and indeed, his heart was strongly motivated to do so because of the love he carried for Jonathan:
And the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?” And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid...

What was the basis of the covenant David made with Jonathan?
What were the parts of that covenant?
How did the two of them keep the covenant they made with each other?
Mastering life with love, for David and Jonathan, was creating a covenant founded on “he loved him as his own soul.” Can we even begin to understand what the text means when it says, “the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David?” Love can take on a peculiar form sometimes, and in this case, it was beyond all reason that Jonathan should love his “enemy,” so to speak, as he should have been the one to inherit the throne, not David.
The love Jonathan had for David also put him in a very disconcerting position with his father, Saul, whose jealousy of David increased with every...

Understanding love can be very confusing at times. So often what gets the limelight is the type of love that is romantic in nature, blows up like a balloon, and pops suddenly under the pressure of the environment. Mastering life with love gets lost in the fireworks of romance.
What does love really look like?
How is authentic love implemented?
Looking at examples in scripture, what comes to mind immediately is the love between Jonathan and David. Mind you, Jonathan was the current monarch’s son, and David was anointed to take his place. In other words, Jonathan’s opportunity to acquire the kingdom was effectively impossible due to David’s existence. After David killed Goliath, Saul, Jonathan’s father, inquired who David was, asking for David to be brought...